Cold Heart
by Alcoholic Dinosaur
Summary: When RO is beaten one night after coming out of a bar, its up to Spider to bring him back out of his shell as love blossoms between them. Sorry, suck at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Cold Heart  
AN: This is a Spider/RO romance, fluff mainly but might have some...hehe...stuff later on. Thanks for reading, and dont forget to review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sea Patrol

Post Season-5

0218 HRS

Queens Street and 4th

Cairns

RO staggered drunkenly down the street, the other late night pedestrians giving him a wide berth. He stopped momentarily, attempting to look at the dial on his watch, the numbers blurring together. A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder, pushing him into the dark alley. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, the alcohol slowing his judgement. By the time it finally clicked, the hand had released his shoulder to punch him in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

He was picked up roughly and shoved against the wall, his head bouncing off the brick wall of a building and starting a thin trickle of blood down his forehead. As his attacker reached for his wallet, RO sobered enough to let a weak punch fly and connect with the dude's nose. The man grunted, the let a series of punches and kicks fly into RO's stomach. He felt something crack, and a sudden burning sensation in his lungs made it to the forefront of his mind. A final punch to his jaw knocked him unconscious, his attacker stealing his phone and money, leaving his wallet behind as RO lay bleeding in the alley, slumped against a cold metal trashcan as a summer storm rolled in, drenching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Cold Heart - Chapter Two  
AN: Here's chapter two! Its not that long, but its an update.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sea Patrol

0430 HRS

HMAS Hammersley

Home Port

Lieutenant Commander Nikki Caetano grumbled and set down her coffee cup, staring out at the massive storm that was keeping the crew inside. All except one.

"Anyone heard from RO?" She asked, looking back at the bridge crew. They shook their heads, Spider handing her a slip of paper as he set down the receiver at RO's station. She stood up shakily, her eyes widening in shock. "Are they sure it's him?" She asked, receiving a nod from Spider and some curious glances from the bridge crew. She snatched up her coffee cup and phone from her armrest, snapping orders as she headed for the stairs, Spider on her heels. "Dutchy, you've got the ship, tell the XO to meet me at Barry General and have someone look up RO's next of kin. He's been mugged and beaten up." She said, pausing and looking back at the worried faces looking at her, then starting back down the stairs. Grabbing her jacket from her cabin, she met Spider at her car, breaking more than a few traffic laws as she sped down the wet roads to the hospital. Running into the hospital, she grabbed a nurse to ask her where RO was.

"He's in Intensive Care, ma'am. Are you family?" The nurse asked, glancing at her clipboard.

"No..but hi-" Nikki started, cut off by the nurse.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. If you're not family, you can't go in." The nurse said, gave a small smile, spun on her heel and walked off. Nikki scoffed and grumbled a few curses, striding over to the chairs next to the door. Spider sat next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. She looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"He can't die, Spi. He...he just can't." She whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. Spider looked up as Lieutenant James Hood strode in, carrying a file with him.

"Dutchy sent this. It's RO's file, he thought you might want to look for yourself, give you something to do." He said, handing the file to his quietly sobbing CO. She gently opened it, skimming through pages, setting aside his medical papers to give to the nurse, and then paused as she looked at the page with RO's next of kin on it.

"Uh...Spider?" She asked in a whisper, holding the paper up for him to look at.

"Wha...when...did he do that?" Spider asked, looking between Nikki and the XO. They both shrugged, Nikki wiping her cheek off with her coat sleeve as Spider got up and walked slowly over to the nurse. The nurse took the page from him, looked at it, handed it back to Spider and shook her head.

"I still can't let you back there, sir." She said, giving him a dismissive wave and looking back down at a crossword puzzle. Spider slapped the counter, his hand sounding like a gunshot when it connected with the cool material of the counter. The nurse jumped and looked up, seeing Spider on the verge of exploding.

"Damnit, listen to me. His only relative is halfway across the country it Darwin, and they don't even speak anymore. I am his legal next of kin, which mean you damn well better let me and those two," he stopped and waved a hand at Nikki and Lieutenant Hood, "back there to see him. Got it?" He growled quietly, the nurse nodded shakily. She stood and walked over to the ICU ward doors, Spider motioning to Nikki and the X to join him. They followed the nurse through the doors, down the hall to a room at the end of a hallway. Spider went in first, Nikki and James pausing at the threshold with the nurse.

"They found him in a back alley. 4 broken ribs, concussion, broken nose, some scrapes and bruises." the nurse whispered, Nikki hissing at the extent of his wounds. Spider stood frozen in front of RO's bed, looking down at the pale man covered in tubes and bandages. Nikki edged him into one of the chairs, sitting in a one across from him and James propping up against the wall.

'It's going to be a long night.' Nikki thought, watching Spider idly draw patterns on the armrest.


	3. Chapter 3

One Week Later

0616 HRS

Barry General Hospital

Cairns

Spider jolted awake, his eyes automatically finding RO and doing a fast visual assessment. He saw the man twitch and let out a groan, the readouts on the monitors changing slightly.

"Nurse!" He shouted, jumping up and running over to his bedside. A nurse ran in, glancing at all the monitors and then RO. His eyes fluttered slightly and then opened fully, darting back and forth as his body tensed up. Spider gripped his hand, RO's eyes whipping around and locking on him, his body relaxing and his vitals stabilizing the moment they made eye contact. The nurse did some final checks on RO before returning to the desk, Spider never letting go of his hand until the hospital door shut, then he sighed and eased down to his knees so he could be eye level with RO.

"What...happened to me?" He asked Spider, wincing when moved to fast and a wave a nausea and dizziness swept over him.

Damnit, don't EVER scare me like that again." Spider grumbled, standing back up. "You were mugged. Broke ribs, nose, and a concussion. Someone found you in an alley, called the hospital, they called _Hammersley_, and I got the lovely duty of telling Nav." Spider summarized, referring to their chestnut-haired CO with the first nickname they had associated her with.

RO nodded and was suddenly staring off into space, his fingers idly playing with a loose thread on the hospital blanket. "I could go for a burger." He suddenly said, Spider's head snapping up, eyebrow already cocked in it's familiar 'Are you serious?' position. RO looked at him with a straight face, his stomach punctuating his glare with a growl. Spider sighed and shook his head, standing up.

"Fine. But if you get in trouble, it's not my fault." He said, pulling on his jacket and walked out, shaking his head as he walked out. "Not awake two minutes and he's already playing the cripple card. Hmmph!" Spider mumbled loud enough for the other man to hear, but RO could tell by his tone he had a smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey all, sorry it took so long to update, had to wait for a reliable computer to dance my way lol. Here's chapter four, and I hope it's longer than the others.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sea Patrol**

Six Weeks Later  
0150 HRS  
Spider's Apartment  
Cairns

Spider woke to the sound of his phone ringing, followed by a string of curses from RO who was (up till now, at least) asleep on the couch from where he had practically dropped from exhaustion after physical therapy yesterday evening. Running into the small kitchen of his apartment, he grabbed his phone up off the counter and answered it.

"Webb." He snapped, irritated that he had been woken from a fairly nice sleep. 'To be honest, the best sleep i've had since RO was attacked' he thought sourly, waiting for the other person on the line to respond.

"Spider? Isn't this RO's number?" Bomber asked, concern in her voice. Spider wakened fully, pulling the phone from his ear and looking at the case on the phone. He had gotten the same phone as RO after the older man had practically begged him to so he could get a buy one get one free discount. Instead of seeing his nondescript black case, he saw the custom one RO had had made with the symbol of the Royal Australian Navy's Communications Department on it. Sighing, he put the phone back to his ear to tell Bomber to hold on while he stumbled into the living room.

"RO, next time you fall asleep on my couch, keep your phone with you." He mumbled, throwing the phone in the general direction of the man. RO grunted and caught the phone, slurring out a quick, "I'm asleep." before hitting the end call button and rolling back on his stomach. Spider shook his head and turned on the light, intent on raiding the fridge before going back to bed.

RO, apparently, had other ideas. He tossed his phone in the direction of the light, hitting the touch activated lamp and plunging the room into darkness. Spider spat a curse at the older man but didn't turn the lamp back on, grabbing food and headed back to his bedroom. RO sat up and glared at the bedroom door, before swinging his legs off the couch and stumbling into Spider's bedroom, falling onto the bed.

"Sharing is caring." Robert mumbled, yanking a bag of Ready-Made popcorn from the younger man and eating a few pieces. Spider sighed and looked down the bed at his housemate, watching as RO chewed and swallowed, then curled slightly and tried to get back to sleep.

"Oh, no ya don't." Spider grumbled, not wanting RO to fall asleep at his feet like a watchdog. He poked the older man with his foot, shaking him awake and making RO look at him. "RO...are you okay?" Spider asked, cocking his head as RO winced when he rolled over to fully face Spider.

"Ribs are sore." Robert mumbled, wrapping his arms around his midsection. Spider eased down to the edge of the bed where RO lay and sat next to him, waiting to see if Robert needed anything. RO glanced up at Spider and saw his concerned look, and managed a brief, pained smile at the man who had made it his mission to nurse him back to health. (And Nav was too….busy….with her new boyfriend to have a house-mate.)

"Okay, that's it. I don't care if you don't want to kick me out of my bed, but you're sleeping up here tonight. The couch would just make the soreness worse. C'mon, slide up to the pillow while I go get a heating pad." Spider said, smacking the mattress and getting up, disappearing into his bathroom.

RO decided not to protest, as that would've taken energy he didn't have, so he slid up to the pillow opposite Spider's and waited for the brunette to return. He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew was something warm being placed on his abdomen and the feathery touch of fingers brushing across his forehead. "Night, RO." Spider whispered, grabbing his pillow and walking out of his bedroom to go sleep on the couch.

He stretched out on the still semi-warm couch, smelling the remnants of RO's cologne still in the fabric of the couch. Inhaling the scent deeply, he closed his eye and buried his face into his pillow. His mind drifted, letting his thought wander about RO, how soft his lips looked, how Spider just wanted to kiss him, and some other possibly despicable things to the older man. 'Woah. Where did THAT come from?' Spider asked himself, rolling over to look at the ceiling. He shook those thoughts away, and was suddenly self conscious about how he acted around RO.

Deciding he should just put those thoughts aside, he sat up, grabbed a book of the end-table and started reading, falling asleep a few minutes later, the book falling from his hands to the floor.


End file.
